Sensible Garage
14th Jul 2006, 21:15
Tilt-rotor's compressor stall may not be serious, aircraft experts say
WASHINGTON – One of two Marine Corps V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft on their way to England for international air shows landed in Iceland instead Monday after suffering compressor stalls in an engine.
The V-22 Osprey, shown here in flight over the North Carolina coast last year, was nearly canceled after two Osprey crashes in 2000 left 23 Marines dead. The incident was an unwelcome start to a trip the Marine Corps views as a demonstration of the helicopter-airplane hybrid's ability to "self-deploy" overseas by refueling in midair and a chance to prove to an international audience that the Osprey's problems are behind it.
The V-22, built by Bell Helicopter Textron Inc. of Fort Worth and Boeing Co.'s helicopter division, was nearly canceled after two Osprey crashes in 2000 left 23 Marines dead.
On Monday, the Marine Corps crew of three made the precautionary landing at Keflavik about four hours into a scheduled nine-hour flight from Goose Bay, Canada, to Farnborough, England, Marine spokesman Lt. Col. Scott Fazekas said.
A spare Rolls-Royce AE1107C turbofan engine will be flown to Iceland and swapped with the engine that suffered the stalls, he said. The engine was in England with mechanics sent to maintain the V-22s during their appearances at two air shows this weekend and next week.
"They're going to replace the engine there on site," Lt. Col. Fazekas said. "A compressor stall doesn't necessarily require an engine replacement; they just decided to do that in this case."
The V-22s are to perform this weekend at the Royal International Air Tattoo show in Fairford, England, and next week at the Farnborough International Airshow, the year's major aerospace trade fair.
"It's not the way you want to start a deployment tour, but on the other hand, this sounds like a low-tech issue," said aerospace industry analyst Richard Aboulafia of the Teal Group, a Washington-area consulting firm.
Bell spokesman Bob Leder said compressor stalls in such engines were "really nothing."
"These kind of engine problems are very normal, not only within military aircraft, but in commercial aircraft," he said.
Hans Weber, president of the California-based technology management consultancy Tecop International Inc., said compressor stalls "can be harmless, but they can also mean there is internal damage to the engine."
Mr. Weber recalled that the pilot of a British Airways 747 that left Los Angeles last year with a load of passengers shut down one of his four engines because of compressor stalls and flew on to England.
Given the V-22's troubled history, "We're all very sensitized to worry about problems with the Osprey, sure," Mr. Weber said. "But this might not be something to worry about. We have to see what ultimately they find out about what caused it."
WASHINGTON – One of two Marine Corps V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft on their way to England for international air shows landed in Iceland instead Monday after suffering compressor stalls in an engine.
The V-22 Osprey, shown here in flight over the North Carolina coast last year, was nearly canceled after two Osprey crashes in 2000 left 23 Marines dead. The incident was an unwelcome start to a trip the Marine Corps views as a demonstration of the helicopter-airplane hybrid's ability to "self-deploy" overseas by refueling in midair and a chance to prove to an international audience that the Osprey's problems are behind it.
The V-22, built by Bell Helicopter Textron Inc. of Fort Worth and Boeing Co.'s helicopter division, was nearly canceled after two Osprey crashes in 2000 left 23 Marines dead.
On Monday, the Marine Corps crew of three made the precautionary landing at Keflavik about four hours into a scheduled nine-hour flight from Goose Bay, Canada, to Farnborough, England, Marine spokesman Lt. Col. Scott Fazekas said.
A spare Rolls-Royce AE1107C turbofan engine will be flown to Iceland and swapped with the engine that suffered the stalls, he said. The engine was in England with mechanics sent to maintain the V-22s during their appearances at two air shows this weekend and next week.
"They're going to replace the engine there on site," Lt. Col. Fazekas said. "A compressor stall doesn't necessarily require an engine replacement; they just decided to do that in this case."
The V-22s are to perform this weekend at the Royal International Air Tattoo show in Fairford, England, and next week at the Farnborough International Airshow, the year's major aerospace trade fair.
"It's not the way you want to start a deployment tour, but on the other hand, this sounds like a low-tech issue," said aerospace industry analyst Richard Aboulafia of the Teal Group, a Washington-area consulting firm.
Bell spokesman Bob Leder said compressor stalls in such engines were "really nothing."
"These kind of engine problems are very normal, not only within military aircraft, but in commercial aircraft," he said.
Hans Weber, president of the California-based technology management consultancy Tecop International Inc., said compressor stalls "can be harmless, but they can also mean there is internal damage to the engine."
Mr. Weber recalled that the pilot of a British Airways 747 that left Los Angeles last year with a load of passengers shut down one of his four engines because of compressor stalls and flew on to England.
Given the V-22's troubled history, "We're all very sensitized to worry about problems with the Osprey, sure," Mr. Weber said. "But this might not be something to worry about. We have to see what ultimately they find out about what caused it."